The last Kia Stinger has been sold in Australia
The end of the road for the Kia Stinger has arrived in Australia, after seven years and close to 11,500 sales.
The final Kia Stinger to be sold in Australia has rolled off showroom floors with no successor in sight – amid a global decline in the sales of large sedans.
While the Kia Stinger was a relative success in Australia – with about 11,500 deliveries over seven years – it was not as popular as anticipated in its main market, North America, and a second generation is not planned.
The final examples were produced for Australia in mid-2023, and were sold in Australia at the end of last year.
"No more. It's over and out, which is very sad," Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Drive, when asked if the final Stingers have been sold.
"I'm a fan of the Stinger. I see them on the road ... Damien and I talk about how we wish we bought one and just held onto it to see what its value becomes in this electrification future that we'll have.
The Kia Stinger recorded its best annual sales globally in 2018 – its first full year on sale – when approximately 33,000 were reported as sold, but this dropped to 21,700 sales in 2021, and about 15,000 cars in 2022.
It arrived in Australia weeks before the final V8 Holden Commodore rolled off the production line, and set its best sales year close to the end, in 2022 with 2242 deliveries reported.
"It was one of those tough ones where you really needed Stinger to be successful globally," said Mr Rivero.
"And with two things: Europe [was] moving towards CO2 regulations and electrification, it had a limited life in Europe – and it just didn't quite hit the mark in the United States and North America.
"So we liked it and I think we did quite well with it. We had Queensland Police and other police jurisdictions in the Northern Territory that were pretty keen with it as a highway patrol [car].
"And we were able to gather a few customers that came out of the old Aussie Big Sixes, from Commodore and Falcon. So I think the formula in Australia really did suit Stinger, so we're sad to see it go," the executive said.
About 90 per cent of Kia Stingers sold in Australia were twin-turbo V6-powered GT versions, with performance – and prices – close to the final Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore sports sedans.
It was adopted by police forces in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Kia Stinger annual sales in Australia
- 2017: 504 (launched September)
- 2018: 1957
- 2019: 1773
- 2020: 1778
- 2021: 1407
- 2022: 2242
- 2023: 1806 (production ended mid-year)
- Total: 11,467